THE FUTURE IS OURS TO LEARN Final Report of Labour’s Lifelong Learning Commission Independent Commission for Lifelong Learning Final report November 2019 1 Table of contents Foreword ............................................................................................................................... 4 Executive Summary ............................................................................................................... 5 Section 1: Introduction .........................................................................................................10 Section 2: Why should Labour be concerned with lifelong learning, and why now?.............12 Section 3: Learning lessons from around the UK...................................................................15 UK-wide comparison of lifelong learning participation and outcomes ........................ 15 Qualifications held by the working age (16-64 year-old) population ........................... 16 Overall higher education participation rates............................................................... 17 Lessons for England from the rest of the UK ............................................................. 18 Conclusions .............................................................................................................. 20 Section 4: A new, radical vision for lifelong learning in England for 21st century ..................21 National strategy and oversight ................................................................................. 22 Focus on place and local need .................................................................................. 23 Harnessing the digital dimension ............................................................................... 24 Section 5: Building a lifelong learning culture .......................................................................25 Embedding lifelong learning across public services................................................... 26 Developing a learner-centred system ........................................................................ 27 A universal, funded entitlement to learn .................................................................... 28 Support for all higher-level learning ........................................................................... 30 Lifelong enrolment..................................................................................................... 31 Supporting employee rights to training ...................................................................... 32 Section 6: Navigating the lifelong learning system ...............................................................34 IAG for the 21st century ............................................................................................ 34 Allowing learners to take control of their learning ...................................................... 37 Section 7: Fostering strategic partnerships to support lifelong learning ...............................39 Developing a collaborative model for delivery ........................................................... 39 National framework, local delivery: building local learning partnerships ..................... 40 Devolution ................................................................................................................. 41 Sector and specialist partnerships ............................................................................. 42 Achievement and Progression................................................................................... 43 Section 8: Encouraging meaningful employer engagement ..................................................45 What do we want employers to deliver? .................................................................... 47 Who does what? Renegotiating the role of employers ............................................... 48 Incentives to encourage employers to do more ......................................................... 48 Enabling employers to be co-producers .................................................................... 49 Locating adult skills within the wider context of economic and industrial policy ......... 50 Timescales, structures and culture ............................................................................ 51 Section 9: Building capacity for effective design and delivery ..............................................53 Developing infrastructure to support the new lifelong learning system....................... 54 Developing the lifelong learning workforce ................................................................ 55 Strengthening the role of trade unions....................................................................... 55 Regulation and Oversight .......................................................................................... 56 Section 10: Summary of recommendations ..........................................................................58 Section 11: Funding for a new lifelong learning system ........................................................60 Costs, Benefits and Investment ................................................................................. 60 Other departments and budgets ................................................................................ 61 2 Appendix 1: Terms of reference............................................................................................62 Aims ...................................................................................................................... 62 Appendix 2: Membership of the Lifelong Learning Commission ...........................................63 Appendix 3 – Costing the Commission’s proposals ...............................................................64 Level 3 entitlement ................................................................................................ 64 Level 4+ ................................................................................................................ 64 Costings for grants and new maintenance/learning support .................................. 65 Costings for new funds and investment ................................................................. 65 Other costs ............................................................................................................ 65 Summary of costs ................................................................................................. 65 Appendix 4: Supplementary data on lifelong learning outcomes across the UK ...................66 Appendix 5: Overview of providers engaged in lifelong learning ..........................................72 FE Colleges .......................................................................................................... 72 Higher Education ................................................................................................... 73 Adult and Community Education ........................................................................... 73 Independent Training Providers............................................................................. 73 Employers ............................................................................................................. 73 Trade Unions......................................................................................................... 74 Appendix 6: How might the new system work for people in practice? .................................75 Appendix 7: Contributors......................................................................................................78 Appendix 8: Sources, reading and references .......................................................................79 3 Foreword By co-chairs Estelle Morris and Dave Ward For decades, the labour movement has embraced the life-changing potential of learning, and put education at the heart of its ambitious agenda for working people and communities. From the ground-breaking Open University pioneered by Harold Wilson and Jennie Lee fifty years ago, to the Union Learning Fund which has supported millions of workers to improve their skills, the Labour Party and trade unions have a proud history of working together to push the boundaries of where, when and how people access learning. The National Education Service, with its promise of accessible, cradle-to-grave education for all, is a chance to breathe new life into this agenda. It has set out a vision for a cohesive system where everyone can get the learning they need to participate fully in work, in their communities and – importantly in these times of political uncertainty - in democracy. Crucially, the National Education Service will give lifelong learning equal prominence alongside early years and initial education, helping to reshape our education system so that all parts of it are valued, well-resourced and fit for the challenges of the 21st century. Realising this vision is no small challenge. Almost a decade of austerity under successive Conservative-led governments has starved many adult learning providers of the support they need to thrive, and left participation in lifelong learning at a 20-year low. Too many people face practical and financial barriers which lock them out of learning and prevent them fulfilling their potential. The Lifelong Learning Commission, an independent panel of experts drawn from across the lifelong learning sector and beyond, was established by Labour to examine these barriers and consider how to build a fairer, more accessible